Held In Glass Jars
by butimbroken
Summary: Buffy/Angel. AU. Angel O'Roarke stumbles into the life of a pretty blonde who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Lindsey was looking quite unhappy when Angel entered his hotel room. He pretended to check the number on the door as if making sure he was in the correct room. "Linds-"

"Where in the hell were you?" Lindsey cut him off.

Angel continued into the room, shutting the door behind him. "I'm sure you already know the answer so do you want me to tell you the truth or..."

"Do you remember that conversation that we had earlier? The one where I said to not go see the pretty blonde?"

"Vaguely," Angel offered.

"And yet you chose to sneak out of here and go to her."

"I didn't sneak, I walked right out of those front doors."

Lindsey pursed his angry lips together. "Do you need that leash of yours re-tightened, Angel?"

Angel took the gloves and mask from his back pockets and laid them on one of the twin beds in his temporary home. "You could try," he replied.

Lindsey looked furious but also exhausted. "I am so ready to be off of this assignment," he said. Lindsey rubbed his eyes for a moment. "I know you don't care about anyone else but could you at least try to think for a moment of what kind of danger you could be opening up for her the next time you decide to pull something stupid. And, fair warning, I'm reporting this so hopefully they add on to that jail sentence waiting on you when that glorious day comes."

"I was careful," Angel told him. "I do happen to know what I'm doing."

"Keep thinking that, Angel," Lindsey said before standing up.

OoOoO

After a long, hot shower, Angel got re-dressed. He knew he was to stay in tonight but that made him anxious, he didn't like just waiting around like this. He knew it was part of the job that he had found himself part of but it wasn't his favorite aspect. Angel tried to watch some tv, read and then he even tried to go to sleep early but his mind wouldn't shut off.

Angel sighed, he got up and wrote a few notes down in his journal then picked up the phone in his room and dialed a familiar number. "What?" came an annoyed voice.

"Can I use my laptop?"

"Why are you bothering to ask? You just do whatever the hell you want anyway." Angel remained silent. "What do you want to use it for?"

"I can't sleep, I thought I could try to find more information or even just keep my mind off of everything for awhile."

"You'll be monitored."

"I know the drill," he replied.

"Are you going to look up Buffy Summers again?"

"Probably," he answered truthfully.

Lindsey cursed under his breath.

OoOoO

Angel O'Roarke's life of crime had been an unusual one. It had started from boredom mostly, showing off for his younger sister. One day she'd dared him to steal something, he did, she thought it was funny and asked again... it started out small but as the years went on his goals became more complex. He started to get the attention of federal agents along the way. Another aspect that set him apart was he never kept any of the items, it was more he toyed with the owners, he'd take something and within six months he'd return it elsewhere and help lead them to collect. It was more about thrill seeking to him. He'd never hurt anyone either which helped when the FBI came calling.

He'd almost missed them reaching out to him. Some days he wished he'd just ignored putting the pieces together but overall it hadn't been so bad. He had met with the team and eventually decided to trade in his previous life to help them out with his skill set. He'd done six different undercover jobs with them already and little by little they were seeming to warm up to him and letting him have more freedom.

Some jobs were easier than others, sometimes that depended greatly on his "handler" he was dealing with. Lindsey wasn't his biggest fan, that had been made clear on Day One. He happened to like the Texan but he didn't let that on much. They happened to work together pretty well at least.

Lindsey was tied to their current mission but he hadn't entirely figured it out yet, but something about it was personal to him. Angel was interested in the group they were after but more after he picked up on that little tidbit.

OoOoO

Roger Wyndam-Pryce was there first thing the following morning. Angel was jolted awake by the knocking, only having fallen asleep a couple hours before. He shook his head as he got out of bed, feeling annoyed. He was usually a light sleeper. "Roger," he greeted upon opening the door. "I'd say it's nice to see you but I feel like this is not a pleasant visit?"

Roger made a face at him as he pushed his way into the room. Angel scratched his neck, shutting the door in Lindsey's smirky face. "Do we need to have a discussion?"

Angel shrugged. "Always happy to catch up on our progress, Roger. Not much has changed since our latest e-mail conversation, though."

Roger took a seat and crossed his arms. "Buffy Summers," was all he said.

"What about her?" Angel asked.

"She's the witness from a few weeks ago, correct?"

Angel cleared his throat. "Yes."

"What happened there again?"

Angel sighed, he knew Roger had the report and after everything had went down they'd gone over it several times, but Angel went and laid down on one of the beds and started walking him through that night he met the girl in question. He had been following a group of young men, teenagers to maybe early twenties, after overheard them talking about a "job" they had done. It sounded familiar, so he had followed them. The group were lackies if nothing else, they were acting sloppy, just out there breaking windows and small stuff like that. He was about to call it quits on them when they met up with a larger group outside of an office building several streets over from where they'd started.

Angel had watched as they quickly got ready and soon were breaking in, he had followed inside behind them. There were only a few security guards that he spotted but they'd both been knocked out. He was about to follow upstairs when she had entered from the front door. He'd barely heard the door close and stilled where he was, unsure of who it was at first. When he heard a voice call out for one of the guards he slowly made his way back to the main hallway and got a better look. She was waiting at the circular desk, looking around for someone.

He debated for a moment of ignoring she was there or trying to help her. He watched her wait for several minutes then she decided to push away from the desk and come walking his way. He wound up grabbing her and hiding with her. She'd struggled at first but once she spotted one of the guards and he whispered assurances to her she had calmed down some as they waited.

He told Roger about the time in which they spent together... as they waited there together in the dark and the short amount of time after things were clear and the intruders left.

"She called the police?"

"She and I exchanged some words, I made sure things were safe... She called it in while I checked on the guards real quick. They were alive, probably woke up not longer after I left."

"She mentioned you?"

"She left out a lot of details."

Roger reached into his pocket and looked at his phone for a moment, he began reading the police report. She had been truthful, but for whatever reason has left out some information about him which had worked in his favor in many ways. He didn't want anyone getting paranoid about the situation that had played out.

"So," Roger started. "Why did you go see her again?"

Angel shrugged again. Roger shot him a look. "I was curious," he finally said.

"You were warned to stay away after being caught looking into her, no?"

"I don't listen very well to others. You know that."

Roger rolled his eyes. "If you have some sort of... need... of the female kind... you are allowed to date or... whatever... or, if need be... I am sure we can-"

Angel grunted at the older man, cutting him off right there. "She was feisty. I thought it would be fun to go have another conversation with her. It's not that big of a deal."

"And did you go as Angel O'Roarke or Liam Connor?"

"I had the mask on. I didn't reveal myself to her."

"In any way?"

Angel took his turn to roll his eyes. "I kept all of my clothes on, thank you."

"Why?" Roger asked after a brief pause.

Angel looked aimlessly around the small hotel room. "I thought it would be fun," he repeated.

"And was it?" Roger asked, surprising him.

Angel almost smiled. "It was," he admitted.

"Do I need to be worried about this?"

"I just wanted to talk to her, and that's all I did. I was careful, I wasn't there long, I didn't tell her anything she didn't need to know."

"And it's now out of your system?"

"For the moment," he offered.

"What am I going to do with you?" Roger asked with a frustrated sigh. "Are you going to fill me in on what you did say to her?"

"Nope," he said quickly. Angel did walking the older man through some of the previous night though but didn't go into all the details of what happened once he'd made it to her house and snuck in.

"You're going to do whatever the hell you want anyway but I am going to waste my breath and tell you why this isn't the best idea you've ever had..."

OoOoO

Shutting down the urge to disobey orders just to disobey and any personal feelings he had brewing inside, Angel set out to just keep his focus on the task at hand. Over the next several weeks, he lived and breathed the job only. And they were so close now, he could almost taste it.

Angel tried not to worry too much about what would happen after they caught the assholes. There was always a chance he'd finally be put in jail- especially after working with Lindsey, that he'd be put in some holding facility again, or a billion other options. He didn't know when the next job would be, or if there would be one, where he'd be, etc.

They had kept him close to the West side so far, only travelling to the Carolina's once since they took him on as part of the team. That didn't mean things wouldn't change. There had been whispers of getting him set up with an actual apartment or condo not long ago but he didn't want to get his hopes up. They were being careful with his state of freedom. Things like that in a more permanent sense could be years away for all he knew.

Angel walked back up to the counter at the small hole in the wall sub sandwich shop and picked up his and Lindsey's orders. He was glad to be away from the hotel right now, he needed to clear his head for even a short period of time and get some fresh air and some sunshine. He couldn't have even told you the last time he'd even been awake during lunch with the way his current schedule was going.

Angel unwrapped his as he started walking away and just a few moments later he was about to cross the street when he saw a familiar face. Angel completely stopped, ignoring the crosswalk telling him it was safe to go. Buffy Summers was quite a distance away but he recognized her right of bat. He watched her as she crossed one street to another while talking on her phone. Angel watched as she smiled at a young boy who bumped into her on accident and kept watching until she put the phone away and stepped into another store several down from where he stood.

Angel glanced toward the corner Lindsey was set up at then back toward where Buffy had disappeared to. He growled, turning back away and hitting the button. He waited until it was safe to go and eventually made his way back to the large van. "What was that about?" Lindsey asked as soon as he got inside.

"What?"

"Something caught your eye over in that direction. I couldn't see that far, though... so..."

"You will not like the answer."

"I rarely like anything you say," Lindsey countered but had a smile on his face.

Angel handed him his sandwich and got a thank you out of it. "I saw Buffy Summers."

Lindsey looked over at him. "Was that your doing?"

Angel shook his head. "I haven't contacted her again. She was just... there. I saw her go into one of those stores, I couldn't make out what it was from where I was standing." He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. He had been trying to put the pretty girl he'd crossed paths with out of his head for the past few weeks and now this.

Lindsey seemed to think for a moment then he started the van and moved it closer.

"Because that's not suspicious," Angel commented after the van was turned back off.

Lindsey stretched. "No one's paying attention to us."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes. "What are we doing?" Angel finally asked.

Lindsey finished his mouthful. "You'd have been distracted wondering where she'd gone and what she was doing so..."

Angel made a noise at him. "I would not be distracted," he argued.

Lindsey waved a hand at him. "Maybe not, maybe so... but I'm in a good mood anyway and curious about the girl now, too."

"You've looked into her," Angel said with his eyes narrowing.

"There's a difference in looking someone up and actually seeing them sometimes. Plus, it makes you uncomfortable, so that makes me happy."

"I'm not uncomfortable."

"You're nervous," Lindsey told him, taking another bite. "It's amusing. I've never seen you nervous before."

"I'm perfectly fine," Angel told him but Lindsey said nothing more about it for the time being. The two men sat there eating, waiting. It wasn't long before Buffy came out of the clothing store, though. She had two small bags and she was back on the phone as she existed the large front door.

Angel glanced over at Lindsey as she was hailing a cab. "She's tiny," Lindsey commented. Angel remained silent. "Cute, I bet even more so up close." Silence. "How'd she managed to get so far under the skin of you of all people?"

Angel had wondered that his own self. He was a pretty leveled headed guy - generally speaking. But something about her had drawn him in from the moment he'd laid eyes on her. He'd been amused with her, her smart mouth... he'd loved that fire that sparked in her eyes as she'd shoved him away from her once he'd loosened his grip and spun around to look at him. He'd had a nice time sparring words back and forth with her during that first initial meeting and it'd only become more fun that second time he saw her.

A cab finally pulled off to the curb and the two men watched Buffy get into the back and soon take off. Angel grabbed a notepad from the glove box and started talking about the case and their plans for the evening ahead. Lindsey dropped the blonde and went along with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy wasn't sure what it was that woke her up and for a moment she thought she was probably just imagining it. It wouldn't have been the first time in recent weeks, sleep hadn't been the easiest part of her life as of late. She tried to just close her eyes and go back to sleep... but it wasn't working. Her mind started going and she was sure it had no plans of shutting up soon. Buffy flipped onto her back and rubbed her eyes before looking around the room again. Her eyes darted to the desk in the corner and she mentally cursed herself for it. That's where he'd been sitting when she'd last seen him. She felt disappointed to find it empty and that was ridiculous she reminded herself. One shouldn't be disappointed there wasn't a criminal who broke into their home just hanging around.

Buffy closed her eyes for a long moment then about screamed when they re-opened. "Jesus Christ," she said to the figure as she bolted to a sitting position, her back pressing hard against the headboard. Buffy had known who it was at first glance but she didn't know if that made her feel more at peace or more nervous. It also didn't help that in mere seconds it'd gone from there having been nothing out of sorts to him as a shadow at the corner of her window. "How long have you been creepily standing in that corner?" Buffy asked him, glancing over. All he'd done was take probably a step or two forward and she did wonder why he'd just been there... watching her sleep... or who knew what...

"Not long," came the smooth male voice. He took another step forward and casually leaned against the window still, crossing one leg over the other.

"I changed the locks," she said after a moment passed between them.

She would swore he smiled, the light from one of the uncovered side windows barely making him out in the room. It looked like his mask moved slightly. "A. Which you got from a hardware store. That wouldn't do much for someone like me.," he told her, a cocky tone creeping in, "And B. I didn't come in through a door."

"Good to know." She then began to wonder where he had entered her home at but she didn't ask. She tried to imagine seeing him squeeze through various windows around her compact home.

"You didn't call the police after the last time I was here," he said after a moment.

She shifted a bit in the bed. "I thought that'd be a rather uncomfortable conversation to have with the police," she told him. When she'd first noticed him it'd been the first thing on her mind to do but afterward it just seemed bizarre and not worth getting the authorities involved over. She did think it'd be funny trying to explain it, though. That night they'd first met, she had gone back to her office after hours to try and get her phone, she'd realized it wasn't with her and was going into a four day weekend and wound up being shoved into a closet by a masked man who possibly saved her from harm or worse. That had been strange enough. Then, weeks later, he swung by her house to have a friendly chat. Sure, made sense.

"You interest me," he'd said that night when she questioned why he was there. Buffy didn't know why but she played that moment over and over in her head since. She knew she'd thought the same about him after that fateful night as well but she hadn't exactly expected to see him again... let alone twice.

The masked man cleared his throat. "I saw you yesterday."

Buffy's mind raced. "And you didn't even come saw hi?" she teased. "That could be considered bad manners."

Again, she thought his mask twisted up a little. "I wasn't exactly prepared to run into you at the time," he told her, waving an arm in front of himself.

Buffy knew he was saying he hadn't been dressed as a creature of the night with that comment. She thought that was rather thrilling. "Where was I?"

He looked down at his dark shoes. "Walking down a street," he offered. She highly doubted he'd get more detailed than that. "I wasn't expecting to see you again." That was not in my plans."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, excuse me for living my life."

He chuckled, his hands going back to the window sill behind him. "I thought about it. More than I probably should have."

"Thought about what?" she questioned.

"Just walking up to you in the middle of a busy street in broad daylight and saying hi. The thought has been rather entertaining. I keep trying to picture how you'd react."

Buffy smiled a little, entertaining that thought as well. "Well, you could always try next time."

"I doubt that'd be in either of our best interests," he replied wryly.

"Maybe not, but it sure sounds like fun," she teased. "I'm sure the same could be said about you sneaking into my house time and again."

The thief looked off into a dark corner of the bedroom. "That is true, this is not the smartest thing I could be doing."

"So why are you here?" she asked him softly.

He looked back her way, Buffy felt like her breath caught as brown eyes met her green ones. "I saw you yesterday afternoon and try as I might to push that thought away, it's been a small distraction point for me. I'm sure that nagging feeling wouldn't have gone away until I talked to you again."

Buffy let that one lie for now. "Are your eyes actually brown or are you wearing contacts?"

Those chocolate colored orbs narrowed and she thought he wasn't going to answer at first. "They are brown."

She looked him over head to toe. He was in all black, all you could really make out were his eyes. "Do you have brown hair?"

"Why?"

Buffy shrugged. "Just trying to get a mental image."

His eyes looked over to the small nightstand by her bed. She was sure he'd had to have noticed it before, too. There were several magazines and newspaper articles about him laying there. "Been reading up on me?"

She shrugged again. "Curious," she offered. Before his last visit she didn't know what to think about this particular creature of the night, then with a few helpful hints she was sure he dropped on purpose she had started looking into him. That hadn't helped her get him off her mind any. He just grew more interesting it seemed the more she learned about him.

And that... that certainly hadn't been part of her plans. Having an interest in some high profile criminal wasn't something she saw coming to be part of her life. There was a big difference in spending a few hours Googling some news story she'd heard about and never thinking about it again or reading some good mystery themed romance novel and finding herself in this situation. The man standing in her bedroom was a real life honest to God thief, his crimes were all over the internet, had been featured in news reports, in newspapers and magazines. He had one hell of a reputation.

As far as criminal masterminds went though... he seemed relatively harmless. That made her feel at least a little bit better. Being borderline obsessed with a psychopath or something wouldn't be nearly as charming. He sounded more like a prankster than anything.

Yawning, Buffy pushed her blankets away from her body enough to get out. She was thankful her legs didn't give out from under her, being close to him made her all out of whack. She felt her blood rushing faster as their bodies became closer to one another as she walked past him and out of the room. "Be right back," she told him. She noticed his hands grip the window sill a later harder as she'd passed by.

Buffy quickly used the bathroom and took a few extra seconds to wash her face and brush her hair a few times before going back toward her bedroom. Her eyes looked around the dark room but she didn't see him anywhere. Buffy turned the light on and still found nothing. She cursed her bladder for making her need to get up.

She suddenly heard a cabinet door close from her kitchen and slowly turned and walked in that direction. "Why not just make yourself at home," she said a little loudly once she got close enough.

He opened and closed a few more before making a satisfied sound, his arm reaching up and grabbing something from the back. She watched his every move as he walked through her small kitchen-slash-dining room from the end of the short hallway. He grabbed a bottle of wine out from her fridge and poured two glasses, setting them onto her small table. "You don't have any food in your house."

"I do, too," she argued. "There's some fruit there in the fridge... and some cake. There's milk... that may or may not have gone bad, cereal. I have some frozen pancakes or waffles I think in the freezer. That is food! Oh, and I have soup."

He ignored all of that. "Why don't you have any food here?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I have a little! My slumlord didn't care that the stove and oven both crapped out so while I'm fighting to get that taken care of I have kind of just been eating out a lot I guess. I was going to buy a new one my own self but other more pressing matters had come up."

He looked at her for a moment before telling her to turn the light on. She did then watched as he inspected the black and white appliance, grumbling as he did. "You need a new one."

"So I have been told." He grumbled some more. Buffy walked deeper into the kitchen, taking one of the wine glasses into her hands. "I have a feeling you could go enjoy some fine dining or really go have anything you want..."

"Probably."

"So why are you here in the wee hours helping yourself to my cheap wine and raiding my fridge?" she asked.

The stranger in black turned around, taking the other glass. Buffy felt herself hold her breath as he lifted the mask covering his face enough to take a sip from it. "Well, you're here."

Buffy's fingers held on a little tighter to the drink ware in her hands, itching to touch him. Her eyes were placing every little inch of him she could see into her her memory. "And?"

"And... I would rather take that small amount of extra time to be here with you before I need to leave." He finished off his glass, pouring another but sat it down. He returned to her small white refrigerator and pulled out some of the fruit. She watched as he slipped his gloves off, washed his hands, and began making them some quick bowls of mixed fruit.

"You're putting fingerprints all over the place," she told him, taking another sip.

He waved her off, unconcerned. He placed a bowl in front of one chair then another in front of the other and took a seat. He nodded his head and she sat down with him.

"You're acting kind of reckless, don't ya think?" she asked after a moment.

He sat back in the chair, popping some raspberries in his mouth. "Controlled recklessness maybe."

"I don't think that's a thing."

He smiled, this time she knew for sure, seeing his lips curl up and perfect white teeth flash.

OoOoO

Buffy let out a slow breath. She'd finished putting everything away and turned around to him standing right in front of her. "I have to leave soon," he told her. He didn't look overly thrilled with that idea she noted.

"Where will you go?" she wondered out loud.

"To bed," he answered. "I've had a long day."

"What did you do?" she asked. Mentally she tried to picture him going to wherever he'd be spending his downtime... taking that ski mask off, his nifty utility belt, his creature of the night outfit...

His mouth opened, then closed. He licked his lips, looking amused. "Research," he answered. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, his head tilting slightly.

Buffy cleared her throat. "Nothing," she said quickly.

He smirked, looking at her like he could real her mind. Buffy was sure she started to blush. "We should do this again sometime."

"D-do what?"

"This. Maybe next time have a real meal."

"You're going to come back?" she asked a little breathlessly.

"As much as I shouldn't... and as much as I'd like to be able to say no... I find that rather doubtful."

"Just can't stay away?" she playfully asked.

His eyes were serious though when he answered. "No, I don't think that I can."

"Oh," she breathed out. Buffy felt like she was almost in slow motion as she closed the short distance between the two of them. She looked up at him, her hands going to his shoulders and sliding to his neck then on to his chin, enjoying the feel of his flesh. Her fingers traced his strong jawline, lightly touched his full lips, feathered over the bottom half of his cheeks. He stilled as her fingers slid under the mask a little.

Buffy gasped as he suddenly kissed her, his arms wrapping around her thin waist and pulling her to his very strong body. Buffy's hands left behind the urge to just rip the mask off of him, her arms going back to his neck and wrapping around him, deepening the kiss. She gasped again as he lifted her, her legs wrapping around him as well. He easily carried her through the small house, placing her back in bed. "Stay?" she whispered before realizing she was going to say such a thing to him.

He growled. "You have no idea how much I wish I could," he told her. He kissed her again. "In the event there is a next time you ask me that," he told her after swallowing hard, "I promise I will."

Buffy breathed hard, taking that in. She watched as he covered her back up, fixed his mask and then disappeared out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you ever miss Texas?"

The question had seemed to surprise Lindsey. "Not in the general sense, no," he answered, his eyes narrowing and looking at Angel from the corners.

"What about... where is it you also grew up? Oklahoma?"

"It is, but no, I wouldn't say I overly miss it either," he answered slowly. "It's nice to return and see family I guess, but that's about it. I typically enjoy being out this way I've found or even just travelling to different places when the job calls for it."

Angel's lips twisted a bit. "Did you always know this was what you wanted to do? Be an agent I mean?"

Lindsey stopped what he was doing, he turned his chair around to face Angel. "No, actually I thought I was going to be a lawyer like my dad. There was a long series of events that led me here instead. I wouldn't trade it, though, I love all of it."

Lindsey just continued to sit there, his cheek propped up a little by his fist, his arm bent at the armrest to his swively black chair. "Aren't you going to ask me why I'm asking you about these things?" Angel asked.

That made the Southern laugh. "No, I already know where all this is coming from. I saw that look on your face in the van that day when a certain little blonde number surprised you with her presence. I have seen that look haunting you on and off ever since she even came into the picture."

Angel's nose crinkled up. "What look?"

"Your face as you start to wonder what in the blue hell got you here, into a mess like this. Your face as you begin to wonder about a million different things you've done over the past several years and how you could have done them all differently, an endless amount of different paths your life could have taken you," he told Angel. Lindsey looked down at his boots. "Eve used to get a look like that."

A moment passed between the two men. "Are you going to be okay with this?"

Lindsey gave a sad smile and cleared his throat. "Going after my ex-wife's new husband? What could possibly go wrong?"

Angel was unsure of what he could say, nothing felt right. When he'd put the pieces together he'd been angry but that had since passed. Angel had learned a lot about Lindsey through this turn of events that he'd not been prepared for, learning about Lindsey's ex-wife, how she'd gained an addiction from working undercover, how it blew up her career, her marriage, changed both of their lives forever. She'd wound up attached to another stepping stone in this puzzle of theirs, some drug dealer turned... well, he seemed to be getting into all sorts of things, hands in all sorts of pockets as of late.

Angel was starting to like the Southern man against his own efforts so he disliked this piece of work a lot less the more he found out about him.

"Did you always want to be a thief?"

Angel chuckled. "You know my story and how that played out."

"True, but what did you want to do with your life before that came to be?"

Angel shrugged. "I don't really know. Growing up anytime I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I always had a different answer. I never felt really drawn to one thing or the other. I wanted to do everything and never narrowed it down I guess."

"You do pretty good with this," Lindsey told him. "At least you can put some of those skills to good use rather than being a lowlife."

"Gee, thanks."

OoOoO

The next several days were busy, everyone in their small group focused on the next take down. Angel liked having something to do, having a plan, much more than the sitting around and waiting aspect. It also helped keep his mind from wandering back to the tiny blonde woman who'd been flipping his world upside down as of late.

Before everything had gotten too hectic Angel had made a spur of the moment choice to order that said woman a new stove and oven combo appliance and have it delivered. He'd rarely used his funds so it'd raised some eyebrows but he was expecting that. He'd taken the proper steps with some help from an IT guy in the know and sent a small note so she'd know it was from him. But Angel hadn't seen her since he'd carried her to bed and it'd taken all his will power not to stay with her when she asked.

Angel both hoped and dreaded the next small break to come. He wanted nothing more than to go to her again but worried about what exactly it would all mean when he did.

OoOoO

Standing on top of a roof several buildings over, Angel smirked as he watched the authorities swarm. Sometimes he did miss parts of his former life but he had to admit this never stopped being satisfying. Angel walked over and found the small black bag he'd hidden up here days ago and soon was checking in with the rest of the team and getting bits and pieces of information as everything went down.

Angel was about to put everything back away and head back to base when the roar of commotion hit. Gunshots were fired and Angel's eyes scanned around to see what was happening. Two lackeys were fighting their way out he noticed and swore before shouting out what he knew. The two armed men took off in different directions and he started trying to follow one of them the best he could.

Jumping between buildings started to get rather complicated after a short while so Angel decided to sneak his way down to the ground again, slipping off any of his suspicious items such as his mask and gloves as he went, trying to blend in better as they headed toward a more populated area. He heard Samantha and Riley Finn come over his ear piece saying they were a few blocks behind him. No one called him off yet so he continued on.

Angel paused, having lost his mark. He breathed out a harsh line of curse words and ran a hand through his slightly damp hair. Angel heard Riley's voice again and the blonde man directed him on which building to go look in and said where he and his wife would go. Angel knew given his unique situation he had to handle things a bit differently but a big part of him wanted to follow suit and just sweep the whole area, but he followed orders and crossed the street. He peered through windows as he walked then headed for a small strip mall.

He looked around some but it wasn't long before Sam's voice came over saying she'd found him and he was heading toward the exit. Angel listened as he made his back toward the front of the store he was currently in. He could he hear police sirens not far off.

Time seemed to both speed up and slow down as he made his way back outside. Everyone was moving, there was a lot of yelling, the sound of another gun going off rang out in the air. The suspect was taken down but Riley and a uninformed police officer had both been hit. Angel gathered around Sam's frantic screams that he was alive and it didn't seem too terribly bad at least.

Angel wanted to go check on the agent himself but he knew that was not in the cards at the moment. As he started pushing away from the crowd gathering, he sent a quick message through to Sam and then fiddled with his ear piece for a moment to tune some of it out. "Linds?" he called out and waited for a response. The cowboy was not in a very good mood. Angel didn't blame him.

Angel mostly listened as he walked away from the scene behind him. He asked what'd happened with the other moron who'd taken off and Lindsey told him he'd been killed but thankfully that'd been the only death in this whole mess tonight. Angel was about to tell him he would be heading back to base finally but he started getting a strange feeling as he walked on a bit more.

Stopping, Angel's stomach growled as he had the strong scents of the restaurant hit him. He looked over his shoulder then did a double take, his brown eyes meeting the slightly widened green ones he'd had on his mind for weeks now. The two just stared at one another at first. Angel cleared his throat, taking a step closer to her. "Buffy," he greeted.

"What in the hell does your little girlfriend have to do with anything right now?" he heard Lindsey's voice yell out.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked. Her eyes went down to the flashing lights.

"I had next to nothing to do with that," he quickly said. He heard Lindsey in his ear but only for another moment as he reached up and turned everything off.

"There are police everywhere out here," she half whispered.

Angel almost smirked, she looked worried for him. "There are. But it's okay, they're not looking for me," he told her, his voice low as well. "They already know exactly where I am."

Buffy let that roll around in her head. "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Angel cleared his throat, another police car went flying by behind them. "This is not really a conversation for the middle of a sidewalk while chaos ensues nearby..."

OoOoO

It was nearly three hours later before Angel was in Buffy's presence again. For the first time he went to her home as just him, though out of habit he found himself sneaking in before shaking his head at the action. He found Buffy in her small living room, her eyes quickly going to his as he stepped deeper into the room. Today had been long and he had a feeling it wasn't anywhere near close to being done. He was surprised Lindsey and Roger had even let him leave but he'd given his statements, had a talk with Lindsey about he was feeling knowing they'd gotten their guy and it'd thrown him back into the life for a bit of his ex, checked in on the Finn's, he'd gotten cleaned up, changed and here he was.

"You said the police knew where you were earlier..." She wasted no time diving right in.

Angel nodded. "They did."

"Do they know where you are now?"

"They do."

"Do you work for them? Are you like an undercover agent or something?"

Angel cleared his throat. "Something like that."

"The whole... Liam Connor thing? Is that real?"

He nodded again. "It was, I did all of that."

"Did you get caught?"

"No. A member of the FBI managed to reach out to me, I responded. They felt I had some unique skills that could help them on a case."

"And they didn't arrest you?"

"No," he said again. "They never technically have or charged me with anything. More like they offered me a job."

"Recently?"

"It's been a little over a year."

"And you... what? Help track down criminals?"

"In a nutshell."

Buffy let out a breath. "Do your parents know what you do?"

Angel chuckled, surprised at the question. "Actually, I'm unsure on that. I think they do, they've certainly hinted at knowing but neither of them have flat out said anything," he told her. "My sister knows, she knows everything."

"Sister?"

"Kathy. She's younger than me, and kind of the center of how everything came to pass. She knows everything I've done, she knows I'm working with the FBI, she even knows about you."

That got a raised eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yes."

"And the FBI know about me? Me and you?"

"To an extent, yes."

"You know, I went from feeling confused and a little guilty over the fact a known cat burglar was coming into my house and flirting with me and I was not exactly alerting anyone of this information to... well... I don't even know how I feel right now."

Angel cleared his throat again. "It wasn't my intention to meet you or to keep being drawn back here, back to you. I just was."

"Just as it wasn't in my plans to meet you and then keep hoping I'd see you again."

"I kept telling myself I'd stay away but that seemed more and more like I was only fooling myself. Sooner or later you'd be finding out more information about me though and I wasn't quite ready for that to come out. I'm still unsure of how to handle all of this."

"Do you still want to have dinner with me?"

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy felt his eyes following her as she got up and went into the kitchen. She'd gone back into the small Italian restaurant to place an extra order after their unexpected run in with one another earlier. He'd asked if he could come by after in the middle of all the craziness that had come to pass and had been waiting to eat since. Half was waiting on him and half was being too nervous to even dare to try and fill her stomach with anything.

Buffy quickly started pre-heating the oven before going to the fridge and gathering the take out. "I never did get a chance to thank you for that," she told him as she got the food ready to be warmed up, nodding her head toward her new appliance he'd certainly surprised her with several days ago. When she'd gotten the call she'd thought someone had the wrong number at first. "You really did't have to do that."

He shrugged. "You're welcome. It's one small thing I can do."

She shut the oven door and turned around. "You signed it 'A'? Your note?"

"Angel" he said simply.

"Angel?" she tested it out.

"Angel O'Roarke," he finished.

Buffy thought the name fit him well as she studied him. She still had a hard time accepting he was the person under the mask she'd been having these secret meetings with. She'd had a feeling he had reason for all the cockiness but good lord, the man was gorgeous. She'd felt weak in the knees long before even seeing his face so she was a giant jumble of things the past few hours... more as he actually stood there mere feet from her.

OoOoO

Buffy thought her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest before the sun came up, she was sure it'd hadn't been in normal rhythm since she'd first heard his voice earlier. She'd recognized it so easily and then she knew his body, the shape of him and everything had escalated from there.

Together they sat at her kitchen table enjoying their meal, Buffy found herself in tune with every little thing he said or did, watching closely to every move he made. He seemed to be doing the same which only made her feel more flustered. After they finished, he started clearing the table. Buffy's thighs squeezed together and she barely stifled the groan from the sensation. She felt the wet, stickiness of her panties with the movement and thought they were to a rather uncomfortable level. "Angel?" She loved how his name tasted on her lips.

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember the last time you were here?"

"In amazing detail, yes," he answered her.

"Do you remember what you said about if I asked you to stay?"

Angel turned around from where he stood at the double sink, he braced himself slightly against it as he looked at her. His eyes seemed to darken to nearly black within seconds. "Buffy-"

"Do you remember?"

"Yes."

"I want you to stay the night," she told him, her body feeling like it was covered in goosebumps as the words came out.

"I'd be more than happy to honor that promise," he told her, his voice growing huskier. "But this has been quite a night and I don't want you to regret that come tomorrow."

Buffy shook her head. "I won't. Believe me, I get all of this is fast and, well, strange and we hardly know one another but there's plenty of time for that, right? Earlier you did say anything I want to know you'll happily answer as long as you're legally able to..."

His eyes watched her as she stood up and started walking closer to him. "And that still stands."

Buffy reached for one of his large hands. "And there will a lot of that to come," she told him. "But for right now..." she moved his hand with hers under the skirt she currently had on. Fingertips brushed against the soaked garment and this time Buffy couldn't help the moan that spilled from her lips. Buffy had been day dreaming of him touching her for weeks and was sure she could explode and die right then and there and be a happy woman.

Angel bent down to kiss her, Buffy's arms both came around to wrap around his neck. She felt two of his long fingers enter her body, sliding easily inside her as if she were butter. "Fuck," she hissed, breaking their kiss. Angel growled, picking her up. He carried her easily over to the table with his one free hand as the other continued to tease her, his lips returning back to hers. Angel sat her down on the edge of the table and her hands drew away from him, grasping at the corners.

He wasn't masking his own hunger any for her as his lips buried against hers, his tongue demanding entrance into her hot mouth as his very talented fingers twisted, slid in and out of her. "Take me to bed," she panted out as they both came up for air.

Angel was more than happy to comply with her request. He slid her underwear off before gathering her back up in his arms and started for her bedroom. He stopped in the door frame, though. "Buffy, if you're having any doubts about this you need to let me know now," he told her. She only grew more excited by the need flowing off of him in waves.

"I want you inside of me," she whispered in his ear.

He growled in response and before she knew it she was bouncing just slightly against the top of the bed. Buffy shivered as he started undressing, taking all of it in. The mysterious man in black showing up was sexy as it were, she didn't even have a word for what this was. He looked unreal as the moonlight slightly filled the room from the blinds, the black tee shirt he had on easily removed and discarded to the floor.

Buffy found her mouth slightly hanging open as she watched him finish undressing, her body aching more with every new inch of smooth flesh being exposed. Buffy gasped as he joined her on the bed in one swift action, his mouth capturing hers once more. She could feel his engorged flesh against her thigh and thought that alone could be her undoing.

Angel helped her out of her own shirt, her bra, and finally her skirt so she lay bare before him. She felt her nipples pebble up as hard as they could under his gaze as he took the sight of her in. "Angel," she whimpered. He kissed her then started to nibble and suck on her neck as his large hands cupped her creamy mounds, Buffy whined at him, she would have been more than happy to allow him to discover every inch of her body if she wasn't in such a heightened state of need. "Inside," she panted, her body twisting and arching trying to get closer to him.

"Soon," he told her softly, his mouth hovering over her breast for a moment before taking her nipple into his mouth.

Buffy moaned. "Now," she argued and felt him smile against her. She repeated herself as he gave similar attention to the opposite breast. Angel kissed down the wide plain of her stomach before his mouth found the treasure between her legs. Buffy closed her eyes, unable to watch or speak anymore. His tongue explored her inner walls and she could already feel her body shaking against him with every small movement he made. "Angel," she barely breathed out.

She felt him smirking against her. He had another quick taste before making his way back up her body. Buffy's arms wrapped around his neck and brought him down to her lips as he finally positioned himself at her entrance. In a moment of uninvited panic, Buffy stopped him just as she felt the tip of him touch her heat. "Wait!" She felt him stiffen, tension rolling off him in waves. He made an unhappy sound at her. She let out a few quick breaths. "There's not like a Mrs. O'Roarke out there or something is there?" she asked, hating the idea for even coming into her mind right now. She wondered if she'd even care to be honest if he said there was.

"No," he said between clenched teeth.

"A girlfriend who'd be really pissed off about what's about to happen?"

"No," he repeated. "Unless you're wanting to fill that position, no."

"Okay," she told him, her mind eased a little.

Buffy raised her hips, making him enter into her body. "Can I get back to fucking you now?" he asked.

"You had better," she told him and in a swift motion he filled her completely. Buffy screamed, her fingernails digging into his upper arms as she finally felt release from all her pent up sexual frustration. Angel stilled again, just watching her pleasure and he waited until she was no longer seeing stars before his hips began to move against her. Together they moaned as he slowly moved inside of her, finding a welcomed rhythm.

When Buffy's hips began to move frantically against him, Angel used one hand to try and pin her down as his own speed picked up. Buffy chanted at him to fuck her harder which he was happy as a clam to follow through with. Her bed slammed against the wall with his every thrust so hard she thought they were bound to break something. She'd already noticed some of her childhood stuffed animals had fallen from the bookshelf that shared the same wall as the headboard.

Angel's hand slipped a bit lower from her hip around to her ass, he lifted her slightly and at her new angle it took little more effort from him to send her back over the edge, Buffy screamed out his name into the dark bedroom and felt him pound against her three more times before joining her in bliss.

"We should totally do that more often," Buffy said after they'd both had time to come down from their sexual high. She heard him chuckle beside her.

OoOoO

After getting cleaned up and redressed, now into some comfy fuzzy socks, leggings and then returning to the bedroom to steal his shirt, Buffy asked, "You'll really stay the night?"

"If you want me to," he told her, raising an eyebrow as she put his shirt on.

"I do," she told him. "Do you want some dessert? I got pie?"

"I thought that's what you were," he told him and she blushed. "Or is that an offer for more?"

Buffy felt her body react to his sultry words. Her eyes looked at the tent starting to rise in his boxers he'd put back on. "You sure you'd be... up... for another round?" she teased.

"I think I could manage."

Buffy bit her lips and smiled at him. "Pie first," she announced, stepping back into the hall. She laughed as she heard him groan. She headed back toward the kitchen, her body wanting him more than anything in the world but she feared she'd about pass out if she didn't get something new in her belly and maybe something to drink first.

OoOoO

"I totally don't like them as a couple," Buffy said, her nose crinkling a bit as she looked at the television screen. Angel didn't respond so she looked down at him and smiled, he'd fallen asleep and looked incredibly peaceful. The two had taken back to her bed and had been catching up on the latest episodes of her favorite shows together. He was cuddled close to her, his head resting comfortably on her shoulder and down to her chest, his arms holding her close.

Buffy threw a small handful of popcorn into her mouth and kissed his exposed temple. She wondered how she'd gone from just being a boring secretary to all of this, never more thankful for being forgetful about something in her life as she was about that stupid phone. She wondered what exactly the future may hold for the two of them but didn't let her mind go too far into that, wanting to just enjoy what was.

She snuggled closer to him and let her thoughts go back to the show.


	5. Chapter 5

Angel felt as though his life had turned into a roller coaster ride as soon as he had laid eyes on Buffy Summers for the first time, and in no way did he want to get off of it any time soon. He had been drawn to her more every single time he saw her and after having spent the night with her, it sure hadn't waned any. He woke up feeling more content than he had in a very long time, warm in her small bed. As he looked down at the sleeping beauty he couldn't help but think he wouldn't mind waking up to this sight more often.

Angel slipped out of bed and was soon making breakfast for the two of them. He had a twenty four hour pass to be there and wanted to make the most of it.

"I was worried you'd disappeared," he heard from behind him as he was about finished.

Angel looked over his shoulder and felt his heart flutter at the sight that stood several feet away. "Not rid of me just yet," he told her. "Unless you have plans... I was hoping to spend the day with you."

Her face broke out with a slow smile. "Really? You can do that?" she sounded hopeful which made him smile.

He shrugged. "I can today."

"Mmm. Really now?" Buffy was beside him as he turned the stove back off, slipping around one of his arms to stand before him.

Angel put the spatula down and grabbed her up into his arms. "Good morning," he greeted huskily.

"It is now," she told him in response, wrapping her arms around his neck and moving her hips seductively.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered, dipping his head down to her.

OoOoO

Angel found himself spending almost all of his spare time with Buffy after that night. There were some days that was easier said than done but neither of them ever made a complaint about it, just enjoyed whatever they could. He had surprised her by taking her out several times but truth be told the two stayed in just the two of them more often than not. Neither had any complaints on that end either.

Work had gotten heavy as they kept getting closer to their main target but Angel was there with her when he could be. Buffy had introduced him to several of her friends along the way and he even brought her to dinner with Kathy one weekend she managed to come visit. That particular move hadn't exactly been one the FBI was behind but he didn't care. It was important to him and in the end they made no real effort to stop him.

Some days it almost felt normal for them to be together.

As they kept creeping closer and closer to the end game for this mission he had a hard time pushing all the worries away all the time. He tried to not let it damper everything he had going on right now but there were times that was easier said than done. Especially as he finally admitted and confessed to being in love with her.

Buffy had actually been the first one to blurt that out one night as they came back from a movie and wound up caught in a storm on the way back. As soon as they had stepped inside, she'd taken her coat off and looked at him and he felt the world spin backwards then forward again as she told him she was falling in love with him. He himself had been trying to keep his own feelings to himself for the longest time but he couldn't help but assure her of what was in his heart as she stood there.

Angel knew there was no going back for him.

OoOoO

Angel sat, his leg bouncing, his fingers tapping lightly on the white table in front of him before standing and pacing the room again. He bounced back and forth between these two actions several more times as he waited. He hated being nervous and that was exactly how he felt right now. In his mind he tried to come up with just the right words to say to Roger, and then what in hell he could possibly say to Buffy but every time he even thought of her he felt his stomach tighten. His mind raced as he wondered why he let himself get put into such a position then his mind screamed at him for having any negative vibes toward her and meeting her at all.

This had been the longest job he'd done with the team, the first that had taken several months to complete and now that it was finally over it was hitting him hard that he had no idea of what would come next for him. He'd broken so many rules along the way and Lindsey had been chirping in his ear since Day One about it finally being the end of the road for him before they went after him for her past crimes. Angel thought just then how it'd been some time since he'd said anything like that toward him though. He and Lindsey had actually bonded pretty well it had seemed to be honest.

When Roger finally came in, Angel jumped to his feet. "Roger," he greeted.

"Angel," the older man said in return. "Are you alright?" he asked, taking him in.

Angel swallowed before he blurted out his request to at least get to say goodbye to Buffy after they went over the last of the paperwork.

"No."

Angel felt like he was going to throw up. "I'm not under arrest, that is true, correct?"

Roger sighed, sitting down in one of the black chairs. "You are not under arrest, Angel. And technically, I mean, if you want then you can go say whatever you want to your Miss Summers-"

"Good..."

"But what I am getting at," Roger butted in quickly, "Is you do not need to."

Angel stopped. His eyes narrowed. "I don't?"

"No."

"No?"

Roger put a large file down on the table. "We have decided to offer you a more... permanent... position with us, if you want it."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you've been very helpful to us. It means that we'd like to work with you more, we'd train you in other aspects as time goes on, you'd be an official member of this group." Angel blinked, trying to take all that in. "I am under the impression you no longer have your former place of residence but you will be free to find somewhere new to live. You will work with us, you will be monitored... There will be a long list of rules, rules in which I will give you a copy of, and as it's always been we will try to understand that sometimes working with you some rules have to be a little bent... but there will be some in which we will go over, time and time again, that are not budge worthy. You break them and this partnership will be over, simple as that."

Angel swallowed again. "You..."

"We are giving you an out, a second chance. Your past is what it is, we cannot change the things that you have done but honestly there's nothing all that interesting to me there any way other than the skill behind how you did everything."

"So... more or less you're just turning me free... and giving me a job?"

"In simple terms. What do you say?"

Angel felt the relief flood right through him. "But why? Why now?" he couldn't help but ask.

Roger almost smiled. "You have done nothing but help us since you got on board, that hasn't been overlooked Angel. And Lindsey recommended it."

"Lindsey?"

"Yes, believe me I was shocked as well. But he brought it up and every single team member voted in your favor. I actually believe that girlfriend of yours helped, too," he said. "Gave you a reason to stay on the straight and narrow, we can all see that."

Angel couldn't help but start pacing the room again. Roger again asked how he felt about the offer and if he was willing to accept it. This time he was quick to answer, "Yes." It was maybe ten seconds later before the room filled with agents happy to offer congratulations and tell him they were happy he was sticking it out with them.

"It won't always be easy," Roger stood.

Angel nodded. "It wouldn't be any fun if it was."

 **The End!**

 **Thank you all for reading this little story I needed to get out of my head. This chapter was a bit short and all over the place but I'm letting it lie here!**


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